Pat Sherwood confesses to a history of biceps curls before detailing favorite WODs that helped him stay fit on an epic motorcycle trip.

In early 2005, I received a phone call from my buddy Dave Castro, who told me I needed to check out the gnarly workouts on a website he had recently discovered.

I pulled up CrossFit.com and saw “Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1.”

At that moment in my life, I had been doing classic weight training/bodybuilding-type training for 15 years. I spent at least 90 to 120 minutes in the gym working chest and tri’s one day, back and bi’s another day, and I sprinkled in abs and the elliptical as needed. That was how you worked out. It was all I knew.

As I stared at the website, I told Dave, “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. It is nowhere near enough for me.”

And just like that, based on damn near zero facts or data, I dismissed something I did not understand.

Months later, I met up with Dave at a social event, and we did a workout. I could generally beat him on military-type calisthenics such as pull-ups, dips, push-ups, etc., and the workout we did looked to be in my favor. Then he crushed me.

The Squat Clinic, by Coach Greg Glassman, is a comprehensive guide to our most foundational movement. Photographs outline 23 points of performance for a sound squat, common faults and cues to correct… Continue Reading

2 Comments on ““Snatch a Dumbbell? Madness!””

1

wrote …

I think what's most appealing about CrossFit - other than feeling exhausted - is the sheer creativity that is encouraged. It builds upon and betters the traditional mold of running, lifting and calisthenics to create deliciously tortuous workouts that really truly improve fitness. With a little ingenuity and inspiration, you can create a workout that can legitimately kick your butt in 10-20 minutes instead of wasting hours in the gym just lifting or killing yourself on a 5k. Great article and very motivating!

The CrossFit Journal is a chronicle of the empirically driven, clinically tested, and community developed CrossFit program. Our mission is to provide a venue for contributing coaches, trainers, athletes, and researchers to ponder, study, debate, and define fitness and collectively advance the art and science of optimizing human performance.